Part 3: Space Exploration
Welcome to Part 3: Space Exploration. These are lesson plans, activities and resources for this section that complement your Outdoor Ed visit.
Part 3: Space Exploration
Probes, Satellites, and Humans in Space.
This slide deck includes Costs and benefits of space exploration. You can use this with your students as a resource for a debate, an inquiry, socratic seminar, or flipped classroom activity.
Satellite Investigation
Investigate characteristics of planets by doing various activities with your students. If in the classroom set up stations, if virtual, try these at home or demonstrate.
Planet size - gather objects and label them as the correct planet to represent the relative size of the planets to each other (and the sun)
Planet spin - Other than 2 planets, all the rest spin in the same direction. Find out why in the video in the slideshow above. If you have a stretchy piece of lycra, nylon or other stretchy smooth fabric, try to replicate the experiment with some gumballs or marbles.
Planet tilt - investigate in this activity how tilt gives our planet and some others seasons. What planets have seasons?
Orbital Period - Have students figure out their age on all of the planets. in this website.
Kinesthetic Astronomy - Have students represent the different planets. Based off of their shirt colour they can be that planet. First they must order themselves according to position/orbit around the sun. Second, they need to spin in the proper direction for that planet, and finally, they must tilt their bodies to represent the tilt for that planet.
Guess the Planet Game: Using only adjectives, describe a certain planet or dwarf planet, and have a partner or rest of the class guess which planet or dwarf planet it is! As an added challenge, only use 3 adjectives to describe your planet, none of which can be colour.
Natural Satellite Investigation
Investigate which planets have natural satellites (moons). How does the moon rotate around the earth? What causes the phases of the moon. Have students use a ball and flashlight or lamp to demonstrate.
What are some features of distant natural satellites? Have students play this game to find out. Or take a look through this resource.
Meteors, asteroids, comets and more
Have students investigate another object from the solar system that they want to learn more about and create an infographic on it, or report to the class on an interesting fact you found out about it. Some options are:
Kuiper Belt
Asteroids
Meteors
A specific dwarf planet
A specific comet
Oort Cloud
Assessments and Activities
Life on Other Planet Art
Create a physical art piece with any media (drawing, diorama, poster, video), or dramatic representation of what life would look like on another planet. It can be human life on another planet or something else! Look up knowledge on earth-like planets that can sustain life here.
Try to make the Moon create a perfect circle. Is it possible? Try with 10 lunar masses, and with 500. Is it easier closer or farther from the Earth?
Moon Phase, Tide, Seasons, and Solar System Simulator
These interactive simulators shows the different phases of the moon, tides, planets, and seasons. Play with the controls and discover how things work.